Mineral seam sawing apparatus



Sept 21, 1954 A. J. w. HEADLEE Erm. 2,389,718

MINERAL sEAM sAwIvG APPARATUS Filed April 17. .1951 s sheets-shut 1 A.J. w. HEAD LEE a R.. G. HUNTER,

ATTORNEY A. J. w. HEADLl-:E ETAL 2,689,718 MINERAL sEAM sAwINGAPPARATUS"l Sept. 2l, 1954 3A Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 17, 1951 FIG. 3

FIG. IO

INVENTORS A.J. W. HEADLEE R.- e HUNTER,

ATTORNEY Sept. 21, 1954 MINERAL SEAM SAWING APPARATUS Filed April 17,`1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 52 49 INVENTOR5 A. J. W. HEADLEE &

R. G. ||u` TER,

ATTORNEY A. J. w. HEADLEE ETAL 2,639,713

Patented Sept. 21, 1954 oFFIcE 2,689,718 MINERAL SEAM SAVVING APPARATUSAlvah J. W. Headlee and Richard G. Hunter, Morgantown, W. Va.

Application April 17, 1951, Serial No. 221,378

- 3 Claims.

1 This invention relates to improvements in sawing methods andapp-aratus and will be described in its application to sawing solidcolumns of coal of uniform small section from the face of a coal seamfor subsequent study and analysis. However, it is to be understood thatthe method and apparatus disclosed herein are adapted to the sampling ofany mineral seam, such as limestone, sandstone, dolomite, etc., and forother uses, such as cutting door and window openings in masonry,stone-working, etc.

In studying the properties and distribution of organic and mineralmatter in coal seams, and especially in making petrographic andpaleobotanical studies in connection therewith, it is advantageous towork on solid columns of the coal. Heretofore, it was the practice tocut column and channel samples by hand from the face of a coal seam tobe studied. However, hand cutting is tedious and its practice not onlyresulted in a sample of varying section but also it required the cuttingof a large, heavy sample `in order to hold it together. Because of the`large size and varying dimension of the hand-cut samples, the channelswere not as accurate a representation of the composition of the coalseam as is desirable and, because of their weight, the columns werediliicult to handle preliminary to and during analysis.

It is accordingly a major aim of the invention to provide a simplifiedmethod of obtaining solid columns of coal from the face of a coal seamwhich overcomes thenoted objections to the prior hand-cutting method ofobtaining such columns in that it produces a column that is more or lessprecision cut to a desired section, which maybe small as compared tothat of the hand-cut column samples, as is desirable for analysis `andstudy, and that is moreover characterized by lightness in Weight wherebyits handling during transport and analysis is greatly facilitated.

The invention also contemplates and provides simple yet effectiveapparatus in the form of a portable power saw for machine-cutting a coalseam, which is so constructed and arranged as to be capable of cutting acolumn of uniform small section from the seam for the full height of theexposed face thereof without fracturing the column, and in whichprovision is made for eliminating the dust problem usually encounteredin cutting into coal seams.

A more detailed object of the invention is the provision of a portablepower saw as aforesaid, in which the sawing tool is capable of cuttingboth above and below the mechanism by which Cil it is mounted, thusovercoming the necessity of digging out the floor and roof of a mine inorder to out the full height of the seam.

The above and other objects and features of advantage of the inventionwill be seen from the following detailed description thereof, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrative of certain stepsof the improved method and a preferred form of apparatus for carryingout the same, wherein- Figs. 1 and 2 are front and side elevations,respectively, of a portable power saw according to the invention, theviews also indicating in dotted lines the circular saw transposed fromits normal position to a position on its supporting post which enablesit to cut into the roof of the mine at the start of a out;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the power saw shown in Fig. l, illustratingthe mounting of the circular saw and the details of the water spraymeans associated therewith;

Fig. 4. is a section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a power saw according to theinvention in an underground mine positioned to cut a sample column fromthe exposed face of a coal seam;

Fig. `6 is a view looking into the coal face following completion of twovertical cuts of the power saw;

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 6, which furtherillustrates the front column-box ing channel about to be inserted(dotted lines) and following insertion (full lines) into the verticalcuts; l

Fig. 8 is a similar section illustrating the manner of making the backcut required to cut the column loose from the seam;

Fig. 9 is a section similar to Fig. '7 illustrating the rear boxingchannel about to be inserted (dotted lines) and finally inserted (fulllines) so as to completely box the column prior to lowering it from theseam face;

Figs. 10 and ll are broken-away elevational and sectional views,respectively, of the boxed col` umn lowered from the seam face fortransport to a laboratory, for example; and

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. ll1, illustrating a modified form ofrear boxing channel.

Referring to the drawings, illustrating preferred apparatus in the formof a specially constructed portable power saw for carrying out certainsteps of the method of obtaining sample columns of a coal face or othermineral seam to be hereinafter described in detail, reference numeralll) designates a horizontally disposed rectangular base member to whichare affixed uprights I I, I2, which are substantially spaced from oneanother. The base member mounts a standard generally indicated by thereference numeral I3 which may be shaped as an inverted T whosehorizontal bar is comprised by transverse arms I4, l5 connected to theupright leg I6 thereof by means of a T- tting Il. Said transverse armshave sufficient length that they -extend an appreciable distance throughhorizontally aligned, close fitting holes provided therefor in theuprights of the base member and hence the standard I3 is journaled forboth turning and sliding movement in the base member, whereby it mayswing through an arc somewhat in excess of 180 about theaxis oi itstransverse arms I4, I5 and may also be shifted bodily with respect tothe base in the direct-ion of said axis.

To predetermine the lateral shifting movement of the standard withrespect to the base an amount corresponding tothe desired distancebetween two vertical cuts of the saw, the transverse arms It, I5 areprovided with ixed stop collars i8, i 9 located inwardly of the baseuprights il, l2, the collars being spaced from lone another a distancewhich is less than the spacing between the uprights by an amountedualling the'desired distance between saw cuts. Hence, the standard i3may be shifted relative Vto base until one or the other stop collars I3,IS abu-ts the inner surface or" the 4upright to the same sidenf thevertical leg I6 of the standard. Means for ecuring the standard in theposition to which it is shifted as aforesaid are provided, suchillustratively taking the form of vane-like Yblocking arms 2li, 2l whichare pivoted to the inner faces of the uprights i i, i2, respectively, soas to swing from an inactive posi,- tion to an active position whichthey tend to hold by their own weight. The length of the blocking arms`corresponds to the .desired spacing between vertical saw cuts, and whenone or the other arm is swung to its active position, it enters thespace between the upright to which itis p-ivoted and the adjacent collarI8 -or i9 (collar i8, Fig. 1) thus blocking shifting movement of thestandard Auntil the active blocking arm is swung to its inactiveposition.

The standard carries a forwardly extending shelf 23 of length to extendbeyond the front side of the base and whose elevation may be adjustedmeans -of a .rack land pinion mechanism (not Y shown) housed beneath theshelf, which may be of the type conventionally employed to raise andlower a drill press table, for example, being actuable yby a hand crank26. At its outer or forward end, the shelf 2,3 mounts a tool supportingpost 2Sv in fixed parallel relation to the upright leg it of thestandard I3, it being observed that the supporting post has length toextend a substandistance through the shelf so that its upper lower endsIare both clear thereof. To provide a rigid mounting for the supportingpost and to reduce vibration in operation of the saw, the post vmay begripped and supported within a clamp sleeve 2S iixedly secured to theunderside of the supporting shelf 23, as best shown in Fig. 1.

Shown in full lines (Figs. l and 2) as affixed to the lower end of thetool supporting post 28 is a 'tool clamp 32 of the detachable type,being attached and detached by means of a conventional tightening.handle 33. Upon its detachment from the lower end of the tool post 28,the tool clamp may be transposed to the upper end of the tool post, asindicated in dotted line position, and

aixed in that position by tightening of the tool clamp.

By reference to Figs. 2 and 3, the tool clamp 32 has a vertical frontattaching face to which is secured by suitable means the bearing sleeve34 of a conventional circular saw mandrel 35 to one end of which iscoupled the core of a flexible shaft 36, and to the other end, acircular saw 5l. By virtue of its mounting as aforesaid, the plane ofrotation of the circular saw is parallel to the upright leg I5 of thestandard I3, as wellas to the plane in which said standard swings.Preferably also, the plane of rotation of the saw is beyond the end ofthe base it so that it may cut below the level thereof. It will beunderstood that other appropriate means for mounting the saw from theclamp to `operate in its aforesaid plane of rotation may be substitutedfor that shown.

One form of circular cutting saw giving excellent results in actual.practice of the invention is a ten-inch circular steel rock saw, theedge of which is impregnated with diamond chips, sold under the name ofFelliner Di-Met Rirnloeli, manufactured by Felkner ManufacturingCompany, Torrance, California. Such a saw is capable of easily cuttingthe hardest sedimentary rock., and is -alsounusually safe to operatebecause its smooth cutting edge. However, it is to be undern stood thatother makes of circular saws capable of cutting hardrock may besubstituted lfor that designated in the foregoing,

Various means (not shown) for driving the flexible shaft 36 may beemployed, depending von particular conditions. For example, in anunderground mine, the flexible shaft is preferably driven by a 1/2 H.VPfor more explosion-proof electric motor While for strip mines it maybe driven by a 2 H. P. gasoline engine. The aforesaid motor or enginemay `also be employed to power a water pump (not shown) for supplyingcooling water, which also serves to eliminate dust, from asuitablesource (not shown) such as a bucket or other convenient vessel to thecircular saw through a flexible tubing 38 and spray nozzles 39, 39a(Fig. 3),. The body portion of the saw operates within a semi-circularchanneled-shape spray guard 4U, which is preferably made in two quartersections hinged together land detachable one from the other so thateither quarter section may be removed as required for cutting intoceiling or floor. .Suitable means for preventing sediment or dustcollecting in theV water vessel fro-m reaching the pump and forcontrolling the volume of the .cooling water supplied to the nozzles 39,39a will be provided.

In carrying out the method oi the invention in an underground mine, Aapower -saw as above described is moved into the mine to a positiongenerally indicated in Fig. 5, enabling it to operate on the exposedface of a coal seam. Pren liminary to obtaining a sample column oi theseam, the seam face is prepared Vsimilar to that for digging out -orhand cutting the channel;

sample, since the smoother and more clearly vertical the face the easierit is to saw a goed column.

Prior to moving the saw to its sawing position,

The power saw is located with its base length-V wise of and parallel tothe coal face whereby the circular saw will cut the required depth intosaid face when the standard I3 is leaning slightly out of the verticaland toward the face of the seam, such depth being of the order of threeinches, although this may vary, depending on the depth of the samplecolumn desired. If it is desired to start the cut from the mine roof,the saw clamp 32 is in a preliminary operation transposed from its fullline to its dotted line positions shown in Fig. 1, and the shelf 23elevated so that the circular saw 31 operates above the upper end of thestandard I3, whereby the cut may be started in the ceiling or roof ofthemine. The cut is started by slowly pressing the saw standard I3 towardthe coal face until a cut has been made to the desired depth, whereupon`the supporting arm 23 is slowly lowered down the coal face with therack and pinion lowering mechanism. A handle 4B carried by the angleddrive head through which the fiexible drive shaft 36 is coupled to thesaw mandrel 35 may also be used to press the saw into the face of theseam and to hold it while lowering. When the vertical cut has progressedsuniciently, the clamp 32 is transposed to its full lineposition asshown in Fig. 1. Thereupon, the vertical cut is completed, it beingobserved that the cut may be extended a small distance into the floor ofthe mine, as made possible by the extended travel of the circular sawpermitted by its mounting aforesaid.

Upon completion of the cut as aforesaid, the saw standard I3 is shiftedlaterally with respect to the base in the manner previously described,such distance being three inches if a sample column of square section isdesired, and the aforesaid operations are repeated, with the result thattwo vertical cuts 41, 48 (Fig. 6) beginning in the roof and running intothe floor of the mine are made in the coal face, said cuts defining thesides of the partially cut column designated 49 in Figs. 7 and 8.

Following completion of the second cut 41, a longitudinal channel member50, whose interior width dimension corresponds substantially to thespacing between the vertical cuts and whose interior depth dimension issomewhat less than that of the nal column, is inserted into the verticalcuts as indicated in Figs. I and 8, with the result that the partiallycut column 49 is now boxed on its front and both side faces.

To provide access to the rear of the partially cut column, the coal faceto one side thereof is chipped away for the full length of the partiallycut column to provide a space of width to accommodate the circular sawand of depth somewhat greater than desired depth of column. Thereupon,the power saw is shifted through a 90 angle to a position indicated inFig. 8 and adjusted so that the circular saw 31 is free to operatewithin said space in the plane required to make a transverse back cut.Upon the back cut being completed, the power saw is retracted and asecond and somewhat slightly larger channel member 52 is slipped overthe now completely severed and partially boxed column 49a from the sideof the latter, that is to say, through the space provided for theoperation of the circular saw in making its back out, as indicated inFig. 9.

At this stage of operation, a sample column 49a has been cut loose fromthe face of the coal seam and is fully boxed, but it is still verticallypositioned and supported to a degree by the seam from which it has beensevered. In a final operation, the boxed column is lowered to the floor,whereupon its ends may be suitably packed Awithin the boxing channels50, 52 and the channels tied together in their column-boxingrelationship. The boxed column may now be transported as a rigid andprotected unit to the laboratory without fear of fracture.

Instead of the rear boxing channel 52 having channel or U-section as inFig. 11, it may have L section as with the rear boxing channel 53 (Fig.12). l

Without further analysis, it will be appreciated that the presentinvention provides a simplified method of. obtaining sample columns ofcoal from acoal face. Due to the smooth precision cuts capable of beingmade by the saw 31, the column may have small section as compared tohand-cut columns which must have large section and hence great weight toprevent their fracture during the cutting thereof and during subsequenttransport to a laboratory, for example. The small section and precisioncut of a -column achieved by the .present invention is of particularadvantage in .that such a column has been found to give a more accuraterepresentation of the seam than the less precise hand-cut channelsample. For example, a study of columns cut according to the presentinvention or method shows that quite frequently the ash content isdiscontinuous throughout the vertical dimension of a coal seam, a ndingwhich is diicult to establish where channel samples are studied.

The invention also provides simple yet highly effective apparatus forcutting solid columns of coal from the face of a coal seam, which arecharacterized by smaller section and greater uniformity of section thanwas heretofore possible of attainment. Being highly portable, a powersaw as described may be moved about from place to place in a mine orstripping operation as required, and it is extremely simple andefficient to operate.

While the herein invention has been disclosed in its application to theCutting of sample columns of coal from an exposed coal face, it is ofcourse adapted to the samplingof any mineral seam, such as limestone,sandstone, dolomite, etc.

Without any material modification, a power sawas disclosed may also beadapted to general industrial uses, such as cutting of door and windowopenings in masonry, stone-cutting, stone ornamenting, etc.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above disclosed methodand construction without departing from the scope of the in- Vention, itis intended that all matter contained in the above description or shownin the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illus` trative andnot in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, abase member, a standard mounted on said base for swinging movement abouta horizontal axis extending through said base and for lateral shiftingmovement with respect to said base, a horizontal tool support carried bysaid standard, means for adjusting the elevation of said support, a toolpost carried by and extending through said support in xed parallelrelation to said standard, a tool clamp operatively related to said postand adapted to be aflixed to one or the other ends of said post, and. apower-driven circular rock saw mounted in said clamp in position suchthat its plane of rotation is Y 7- parallel both to the standard andthefplane of its swinging movement.

2*. Apparatus of the character described oomprisimgf,y in Combination, abase memberl :a standfard; mounted onsaid basefor swinging movementabout, a horizontal axis extending through, said base and for lateralshifting mowement with. respect to said base, a horizontal tool supportearr-ied by said standard, means; for adjusting the.

elevation of said support, a tool; post carried by 1 and extendingthrough said support 4in fixed parallel relation to said standard, atool clamp detachably secured to an end of said post, and a powerdrivencir-cular rock saw mounted in said tool, clamp. position such that itsplane of rotation is; parallel both to the standard andto the plane of,its `swinging movement, said tool clamp being adapted to be securedeither to the upper end of the tool post, whereby when the support iselevated the saw may cut at alevel above the standard, or to the lowerend of thel post whereby when Athe support iis lowered the saw may cutat a level Ybelow the base.

.3; Apparatus, asset-forth in claim ,1., wher-.ein

means are provided for supplying cooling waterV to,y the circular saw.,

References Cited in the file of thisv patent.

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